By 2030, Obesity Rates Could Top 60% in 13 States

Sept. 18, 2012 -- America's weight report card is in. The grades aren't good, and they're on a path to get much worse.

Right now, 12 states have adult obesity rates above 30%, according to the report, "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2012," issued jointly by Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Mississippi had the highest rate, with 34.9% of its residents obese, defined as a body mass index or BMI of 30 or more.

Colorado has the lowest obesity rate, with 20.7% of residents obese. However, by 2030, 13 states could have obesity rates topping 60%, according to the report's predictions.

"We have a choice to make between a future where we continue to see dramatic rises in obesity and the diseases associated with it, or we take the steps that make our communities healthier and reduce that course," says Jeff Levi, PhD, executive director of Trust for America's Health, a nonprofit organization dedicated to disease prevention.

"If we stay on the current course, we could see obesity rates that are already unacceptable double in some states," he says.